CAHSPR Newsletters

April 2013

President’s Message

We’re in the process of revitalizing our current website and as part of this we’ve been interviewing stakeholders to determine their needs in relation to the website. One thing we’ve heard is that many CAHSPR members would like to know more about Social Media and to have them better integrated into the Website. In response to this interest, here’s a taste of what we have planned:

1) Social Media will be integrated into the new website through:

live Twitter feeds from CAHSPR and the Student Working Group. The SWG will be actively engaging the student community through Twitter.

easy to find icons (Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube) so that you can access all of this in just one click.

2) We’ll be developing Social Media Usage Guidelines and a Social Media Strategy.

3) On March 5, 2013 CIHR-IPPH hosted a webinar Social Media for Population and Public Health Researchers that you may be of interest. A recording of the webinar is available online; the documents from the webinar will be available at a later date. We’ll post these and related links on our new Website.

4) The Student Working Group has organized a pre-conference workshop on how to use traditional and emerging social media outlets - Getting Your Message Out: A Media Skills Workshop

In addition to all of this, we’re proposing engaging one of our student members to be CAHSPR’s “Twitter maven”, tweeting on a regular basis on behalf of CAHSPR. We’re proposing to trial this for a one year period, with “Tweeting services” being exchanged for registration and a travel stipend to attend the annual conference and our planned Fall policy event. If you’re interested in this prospect, send us a note explaining what you’d bring to this work. Tell us about your Twitter profile/how many followers you have. Please send your response to our Website development coordinator, Lisa Nguyen at lisa.nguyen@shaw.ca.

There’ll be more on the Website development in my June message. Until then, don’t forget to register for the annual conference – coming up next month (May 28-30) in Vancouver.

Adalsteinn Brown

2013 Annual CAHSPR Conference

Making Good on the Triple Aim:
How to Improve our Success within the Canadian Context

What will it take to achieve the Triple Aim in Canadian health care? Can we simultaneously increase population health and improve the patient and provider experience while constraining cost growth? The conference provides an opportunity to learn from improvement initiatives in Canada and other jurisdictions, to identify the factors necessary to drive improvements across the Canadian health system, and to explore what it means to pursue the triple aim within the promise of universal access.

Follow CAHSPR as we announce exciting news and information related to the conference and the association. Visit us on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin!

Watch videos from CAHSPR and the Romanow Forum “Ten Years Since the Romanow Report: Retrospect…and Prospect” on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/cahspr

Awards / Occasion de prix

CIHR Barer-Flood Prize for Health Services and Policy Research
Canadian Institutes of Health Research:
Institute of Health Services and Policy Research
Application Deadline: May 1, 2013

The CIHR Barer-Flood Prize for Health Services and Policy Research is a career achievement award that honours and recognizes an exceptional researcher in the area of health services and policy research who has created a seminal body of work that has had a substantial impact on health services and policy research, policy and/or care delivery.

The CIHR - Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) is dedicated to fostering excellence and innovation in health services and policy research and to catalyzing the application of research findings to policies, practices and programs that provide real-world benefit and enhance the provision of high-quality health care for Canadians. The Institute aims to position Canada as a global leader in ensuring that initiatives designed to improve the health of Canadians and the strength of the Canadian health care system take advantage of timely research evidence.

The award is named in honour of the leadership, vision and innovative contributions of the first two Scientific Directors of the Institute, Morris Barer and Colleen Flood.

We are happy to announce the publication of our first ebook, Canadian Health Policy in the News: Why Evidence Matters edited by Noralou Roos, Sharon Manson Singer, Kathleen O’Grady, Camilla Tapp and Shannon Turczak (ISBN 978-0-9916971-0-6).

And the best news of all: it’s free!

This volume is a compendium of the commentaries (or OpEds) EvidenceNetwork.ca has published in major newspapers across the country since our inception, from April 2011 up to October 2012. It is a timely, balanced and non-partisan snapshot of what’s new and controversial concerning our healthcare system and related social programs that affect health and well-being in our country – with evidence at the forefront.

This book is available free-of-charge so that you can share it widely, reprint essays in your news outlets, use it as a textbook in your classrooms, share it amongst your friends and colleagues, on your websites and via social media. Please, do, pass it on.

Canadian health policy will always be emerging and unfolding, responding to changing environmental and economic factors, new technologies, publicly held values and differing political landscapes.Canadian Health Policy in the News captures a moment in time and presents the issues that concern Canadians most, grounding our national discourse and debate on healthcare in the best evidence.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) invites you to explore innovative approaches to data use and analysis at a unique one-day event on Monday, May 27, that will be held with our colleagues from Statistics Canada and Population Data BC. “Health Data Users Day” is an opportunity for you to build knowledge and skills around identifying key data sources, overcoming data limitations and using methodologies to draw meaning from data. Emailconferences@cihi.ca.

The CAHSPR annual conference brings together over 400 of Canada’s leading researchers, decision-makers, managers, and trainees to exchange ideas and share findings from the most recent studies in health services and policy research. Featuring over 200 presentations in plenary, small group, and poster formats, CAHSPR’s conference has something for everyone. Please see the above CAHSPR Conference 2013 section for more details or visit the CAHSPR website by clicking here.(May 31, 2013)Vancouver, British Columbia

Increased availability of administrative data provides evaluators, health service and intervention researchers with more options for answering questions about effectiveness, efficiency and quality of publicly funded programs and services. The purpose of this one day workshop is to explore the promise and pitfalls of using administrative data in evalutations. The workshop is intended for researchers, evaluators, and health service practitioners who are interested in learning about the practicalities of using administrative data to answer evalution questions.

For over 25 years, AcademyHealth's Annual Research Meeting (ARM) has been the premier forum for health services research in the USA, where more than 2,300 attendees gather to discuss health policy implications, sharpen research methods, and network with colleagues from around the world.

Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics Conference (CSEB) (June 25-27, 2013, Pre-conference day is June 24, 2013)
St. John’s, Newfoundland

The 2013 CSEB Biennial Conference will bring together academics, graduate students, governmental officials, public health practitioners, and other epidemiology/biostatistics professionals to share and exchange findings from recent research, and to discuss important methodologies, emerging issues and initiatives.

The objectives of the 2013 CSEB Biennial Conference is to:

Inspire epidemiologists to take on new challenges;

Foster new collaborations and interactions; and;

Profile new tools and approaches.

The purpose of the 2013 CSEB Biennial Conference is to:

Strengthen, link, and network population and public health research and practice at individual, institutional, community, and government levels; and;

Strengthen scientific evidence applied to public health practice by highlighting and examining current and emerging issues common to epidemiology and biostatics at all levels of participation.

The theme of the 2013 CSEB Biennial Conference is “From Genes to Global Public Health: Advancing Methods Across The Spectrum” to reflect the diversity of disciplines and research that epidemiology and biostatistics encompasses. The conference will feature workshops on methods and topical issues, plenary speakers representative of the broad spectrum of epidemiological and biostatistical disciplines, concurrent sessions of oral presentations and poster presentations.

The 2013 CSEB Biennial Conference will be held from June 24th to June 27th, 2013 in St. John’s, Newfoundland. St. John’s is one of North America’s oldest cities and is steeped in a rich heritage and culture of the people who call Newfoundland home. Newfoundland has stunning coastlines where you can see whales, wild sea birds and icebergs. Numerous hiking trails provide picturesque views and access to Newfoundland’s rugged wilderness. In town, St. John’s provides a vibrant cultural experience, from traditional music and dance to contemporary music, theatre and art. There’s something for everybody.

We hope that you can join us in Newfoundland for the 2013 CSEB Biennial Conference!

For more information, please visit the conference website by clicking here.

McMaster University is seeking an outstanding researcher to assume the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis/Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Chair in Health Equity. We are looking for a dynamic early- or mid-career scholar who will lead an innovative research program focused on the production and communication of policy-relevant research that addresses issues of equity and efficiency in health and health-care, at the individual or systemic levels.

The Chairholder will have relevant disciplinary or interdisciplinary training in economics or political science/policy analysis (with a keen interest in political economy if the latter). Experience working collaboratively with decision makers and a strong commitment to improving public policy through research and exchange with policymakers are essential. Emphasis on the application of rigorous research methods to examine policy questions and identify policy solutions within or external to the health-care system (e.g., health promotion, public health, income distribution) is of particular interest. The successful applicant will also have an excellent teaching record and a willingness to undertake PhD supervision.

The Chair will hold a full-time appointment (at the Assistant or Associate Professor level) in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CE&B) with opportunities for cross-appointments with other University departments. The Chair will also be a member of the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA), a world leader in the production and dissemination of knowledge about the determinants of health, values related to health and the health-care system, and health system performance, and will contribute to the Health Policy PhD program (http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/hpphd/). The faculty appointment is secured by an endowment jointly funded by CHEPA, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. The appointment to the Chair is renewable in five year increment, subject to satisfactory performance and continued availability of funding.

Applicants are invited to submit their curriculum vitae, along with a 2-page statement of interest indicating how their current and evolving research program aligns with the goals of the Chair and its emphasis on linkages with knowledge users to inform policy. This statement should include a description of experience interacting with policy makers and how this informs the approach that would be used in contributing to decision making. Please submit all application material to:

Although applications will be accepted until the position is filled, the search committee will begin reviewing applications on April 15, 2013.

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All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be considered first for this position. McMaster University is strongly committed to employment equity within its community and to recruiting a diverse faculty and staff. The University encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including women, members of visible minorities, Aboriginal persons, members of sexual minorities and persons with disabilities.